If you like music, or if you are a musician, then I bet those television shows that feature music get your attention. Now I am not talking about The Voice or America's Got Talent or American Idol. I'm talking about real musicians playing live. Not some real life show or unimportant music in the background. Not that there's an issue with those programs.
Now naturally this idiom of Television has a lengthy record. Way back you had American Bandstand and that actually was THE show where youngsters could see their idols and the freshest pop stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in a number of cases, particularly later you had real bands playing live.
And the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music may be heard. Again there was stacks of lip-syncing in a few cases but at last more of these programs had real music playing live. Certainly the best, really live show during the early days was Don Kirchner's show Rock Concert. That was pre-dated by a program called In Concert where taped versions of live shows were shown. But I believe that Rock Concert was the first live program featuring live musicians.
But the grandfather of them all, and probably the first music program, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years in advance of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most youths where introduced to their idols live for the first time on those Sunday night programs. That's where Elvis Presley and The Beatles and countless other pop stars got their first live Television introductions. And the beauty of the Ed Sullivan program is he usually tried to make the show as high-quality as practicable. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in Britain, the large live show was Top of the Pops. That program started in the mid 1960's and went on for some time. It featured whatever bands where at the very top of the pop charts that week. The Beatles, Stones, and all of the pop acts were on.
And over time, many programs developed that featured live performances. You had Austin Town Limits, Shindig, Saturday Night Live, Later with Jools Holland and others.
But my favourite shows are the ones that basically have actual musicians as part of the cast or story. Of course you had The Monkees back in the old days which was really a take off of The Beatles "A Hard Days Night." And there was The Partridge Family which was again taken from a genuine band The Cowsills. But in The Partridge Family the only "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a popular music career of his very own.
But today, there truly haven't been many programs that feature live music apart from the variety shows or programs like Sat. Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other shows.
My Favorite TV Program
The HBO original show Treme is the only one that springs to mind where the actual cast actors are musicians. Actually the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the whole program. That together with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the politicians, form the primary story lines of the TV series.
But it is the live performances of the musicians in the cast that are the stars of the show for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, bistros, fancy music halls and on the street corner. You see high school bands during practice at school. You see bands performing at airports welcoming new visitors. You really have music everywhere possible in the town. The point being, that music truly does define what New Orleans is about.
And it seems like everyone sings. At clubs and bars patrons sing along to classic New Orleans music they seem to know well. It makes New Orleans look like the most musical town in the world. Maybe it is.
Now naturally this idiom of Television has a lengthy record. Way back you had American Bandstand and that actually was THE show where youngsters could see their idols and the freshest pop stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in a number of cases, particularly later you had real bands playing live.
And the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music may be heard. Again there was stacks of lip-syncing in a few cases but at last more of these programs had real music playing live. Certainly the best, really live show during the early days was Don Kirchner's show Rock Concert. That was pre-dated by a program called In Concert where taped versions of live shows were shown. But I believe that Rock Concert was the first live program featuring live musicians.
But the grandfather of them all, and probably the first music program, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years in advance of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most youths where introduced to their idols live for the first time on those Sunday night programs. That's where Elvis Presley and The Beatles and countless other pop stars got their first live Television introductions. And the beauty of the Ed Sullivan program is he usually tried to make the show as high-quality as practicable. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in Britain, the large live show was Top of the Pops. That program started in the mid 1960's and went on for some time. It featured whatever bands where at the very top of the pop charts that week. The Beatles, Stones, and all of the pop acts were on.
And over time, many programs developed that featured live performances. You had Austin Town Limits, Shindig, Saturday Night Live, Later with Jools Holland and others.
But my favourite shows are the ones that basically have actual musicians as part of the cast or story. Of course you had The Monkees back in the old days which was really a take off of The Beatles "A Hard Days Night." And there was The Partridge Family which was again taken from a genuine band The Cowsills. But in The Partridge Family the only "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a popular music career of his very own.
But today, there truly haven't been many programs that feature live music apart from the variety shows or programs like Sat. Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other shows.
My Favorite TV Program
The HBO original show Treme is the only one that springs to mind where the actual cast actors are musicians. Actually the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the whole program. That together with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the politicians, form the primary story lines of the TV series.
But it is the live performances of the musicians in the cast that are the stars of the show for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, bistros, fancy music halls and on the street corner. You see high school bands during practice at school. You see bands performing at airports welcoming new visitors. You really have music everywhere possible in the town. The point being, that music truly does define what New Orleans is about.
And it seems like everyone sings. At clubs and bars patrons sing along to classic New Orleans music they seem to know well. It makes New Orleans look like the most musical town in the world. Maybe it is.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a considerable time blues guitar strummer. He's played in several bands over time and now helps others learn to play the blues guitar on his website. He thinks Treme is the best music show on the T. V..
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